Deuteronomy 19

1 When the Lord thy God hath destroyed the nations, whose land he will deliver to thee, and thou shalt possess it, and shalt dwell in the cities and houses thereof:

And when the Lord your God shall have destroyed the nations, which God gives you, [even] the land, and you shall inherit them, and dwell in their cities, and in their houses,

2 Thou shalt separate to thee three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give thee in possession,

you shall separate for yourself three cities in the midst of your land, which the Lord your God gives you.

3 Paving diligently the way: and thou shalt divide the whole province of thy land equally into three parts: that he who is forced to flee for manslaughter, may have near at hand whither to escape.

Take a survey of your way, and you shall divide the coasts of your land, which the Lord your God apportions to you, into three parts, and there shall be there a refuge for every manslayer.

4 This shall be the law of the slayer that fleeth, whose life is to be saved: He that killeth his neighbour ignorantly, and who is proved to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before:

And this shall be the ordinance of the manslayer, who shall flee there, and shall live, whoever shall have struck his neighbor ignorantly, whereas he hated him not in times past.

5 But to have gone with him to the wood to hew wood, and in cutting down the tree the axe slipped out of his hand, and the iron slipping from the handle struck his friend, and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities aforesaid, and live:

And whoever shall enter with his neighbor into the thicket, to gather wood, if the hand of him that cuts wood with the axe should be violently shaken, and the axe head falling off from the handle should light on his neighbor, and he should die, he shall flee to one of these cities, and live.

6 Lest perhaps the next kinsman of him whose blood was shed, pushed on by his grief should pursue, and apprehend him. if the way be too long, and take away the life of him who is not guilty of death, because he is proved to have had no hatred before against him that was slain.

Lest the avenger of blood pursue after the slayer, because his heart is hot, and overtake him, if the way be too long, and kill him, though there is to this man no sentence of death, because he hated him not in time past.

7 Therefore I command thee, that thou separate three cities at equal distance one from another.

Therefore I charge you, saying, You shall separate for your self three cities.

8 And when the Lord thy God shall have enlarged thy borders, as he swore to thy fathers, and shall give thee all the land that he promised them,

And if the Lord shall enlarge your borders, as he sware to your fathers, and the Lord shall give to you all the land which he said he would give to your fathers;

9 (Yet so, if thou keep his commandments, and do the things which I command thee this day, that thou love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways at all times) thou shalt add to thee other three cities, and shalt double the number of the three cities aforesaid:

if you shall listen to do all these commands, which I charge you this day, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways continually; you shall add for yourself yet three cities to these three.

10 That innocent blood may not be shed in the midst of the land which the Lord thy God will give thee to possess, lest thou be guilty of blood.

So innocent blood shall not be spilt in the land, which the Lord your God gives you to inherit, and there shall not be in you one guilty of blood.

11 But if any man hating his neighbour, lie in wait for his life, and rise and strike him, and he die, and he flee to one of the cities aforesaid,

But if there should be in you a man hating his neighbor, and he should lay wait for him, and rise up against him, and strike him, that he die, and he should flee to one of these cities,

12 The ancients of his city shall send, and take him out of the place of refuge, and shall deliver him into the hand of the kinsman of him whose blood was shed, and he shall die.

then shall the elders of his city send, and take him thence, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the avengers of blood, and he shall die.

13 Thou shalt not pity him, and thou shalt take away the guilt of innocent blood out of Israel, that it may be well with thee.

Your eye shall not spare him; so shall you purge innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with you.

14 Thou shalt not take nor remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which thy predecessors have set in thy possession. which the Lord thy God will give thee in the land that thou shalt receive to possess.

You shall not move the landmarks of your neighbor, which your fathers set in the inheritance, in which you have obtained a share in the land, which the Lord your God gives you to inherit.

15 One witness shall not rise up against any man, whatsoever the sin or wickedness be: but in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand.

One witness shall not stand to testify against a man for any iniquity, or for any fault, or for any sin which he may commit; by the mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three witnesses, shall every word be established.

16 If a lying witness stand against a man, accusing him of transgression,

And if an unjust witness rise up against a man, alleging iniquity against him;

17 Both of them, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord in the sight of the priests and the judges that shall be in those days.

then shall the two men between whom the controversy is, stand before the Lord, and before the priests, and before the judges, who may be in those days.

18 And when after most diligent inquisition, they shall find that the false witness hath told a lie against his brother:

And the judges shall make diligent inquiry, and, behold, [if] and unjust witness has borne unjust testimony; [and] has stood up against his brother;

19 They shall render to him as he meant to do to his brother, and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee:

then shall you do to him as he wickedly devised to do against his brother, and you shall remove the evil from yourselves.

20 That others hearing may fear, and may not dare to do such things.

And the rest shall hear and fear, and do no more according to this evil thing in the midst of you.

21 Thou shalt not pity him, but shalt require life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Your eye shall not spare him: [you shall exact] life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.